UBELONG

My experience with UBELONG thus far spans two trips to Ecuador and Peru, one year apart. I first went to the Amazon forest in Ecuador to conduct a forest conservation project in the spring of 2012 and subsequently traveled to the Sacred Valley of Peru to work on an education project in the spring of 2013. I can wholeheartedly say that these two experiences have completely altered my perspective of the world and have opened me up to experiences that I never imagined would be in my horizon.

My trip to the Amazon Jungle of Ecuador was both eye-opening and exciting. I had never lived in such a wild environment, both in the figurative and literal sense. The work we did there ranged from harvesting tree saplings to reforest the forest to building a bamboo bridge to traverse a river to working in the local Quechua school to remodel and rebuild their walkways to planting a square plot of crops for the local Quechua and more. We never felt like a day was wasted and always had ample time to truly explore our surroundings, whether it was swimming in the river or adventuring through the jungle or climbing a watchtower to look above the forest canopy. This trip was surely the defining moment in my life up until that point.

After such a successful trip to Ecuador, I went through UBELONG again to conduct an education project in the stunningly picturesque backdrop of the Sacred Valley, Peru. We taught children in the local primary and secondary schools and built a greenhouse for a local orphanage that couldn’t afford to buy its own fruits and vegetables. This volunteer trip was drastically different from my trip to Ecuador in terms of the work we did, but the impact that it had was exactly the same. I was able to reinforce my love for volunteering that I established during my time in Ecuador and was also able to make a significant impact in the lives of numerous individuals along the way.

Without a doubt, UBELONG does an amazing job of setting you up with a meaningful project coupled with kind-hearted indigenous peoples that essentially become your surrogate family for the duration of your stay. Cedric has been my UBELONG contact for both projects and he was so easy to work with and so helpful every step of the way. UBELONG does very well to set you up in safe project sites with reliable individuals and, as such, I never had any concerns going into my volunteer trips. Truly, the relationships that I forged and the work I carried out during these experiences will never be forgotten and will always continue to be a part of who I am. If I choose to go on another volunteer trip in the near future, I know for certain that UBELONG will be the first place I look!